Green glazed ceramic jug: 14th century

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Green glazed jug with brown, green and cream stripes. The top is decorated with a man's bearded face. The body of the jug show the man's harms and hands, the hands are clenched together. Kingston-type ware like this, are usually highly decorated conical jugs with anthropomorphic motifs. Jugs with faces were very popular and most of the potteries around London made them. They often show a man pulling his own beard. This one was made in Kingston. We don't know what the decoration means on these 'anthropomorphic' jugs – perhaps it's a medieval joke or caricature that has been forgotten over time. This jug was found at Bishopsgate street, London.